Dear Uncle Des
by caseymac42
Summary: Chet writes a letter to his Uncle.


Dear Uncle Des

Dear Uncle Des,

Hope all is well in the Big Apple. I figured I'd get you updated on how your favorite nephew…ME…is doing out here in LA.

For starters, life is good…I really have no complaints. No serious girlfriend yet, but it's certainly not for lack of trying. As you know, it takes a special girl to fully appreciate what a Kelly man has to offer. I'm not sure if I had ever told you about the gorgeous models who seemed to have taken a shine to me a while back. They were at our station on a photo shoot. While my buddy John Gage was the one who had been chosen to pose with them….it was ME whom they ultimately flocked to. There are more stories like that to tell, but I will save them for another letter.

I recently took the engineer's exam…placed 74th. It's not good enough to qualify this time around, but I will take it again and do much better the next time. You know what you and Aunt Melinda always told me…"If at first you don't succeed, try and try again." So I figure that's what I'll do…try again. While *I* may have not done so well on it, my friend Roy did great. He was up for a promotion, but turned it down. He and Johnny are the paramedics I work with…two of the best in fact (but don't let anyone know that I told you that). If Roy had taken the promotion, it would have meant that he'd have to leave the paramedic program, and he certainly had his doubts about doing so. He said something about loving his job, but I think it had more to do with his close friendship with Johnny. The two of them are best friends, and with Johnny's track record of getting injured on the job…well, I think you get the picture. Johnny was the one who I told you about getting bitten by a rattlesnake a few years ago. I helped treat him on the back of the engine as Mike Stoker, our engineer drove like crazy to the hospital.

We also had some interesting things happen at the station recently. There was a Department wide inventions contest held…while my invention didn't win, it did provide some unintentional entertainment for the guys. What was my invention you ask? Answer…human fly shoes. They were shoes that had suction cups on the bottom of them, and were used with water. This was to enable firefighters to climb the walls of a building. Sounds pretty amazing, I know…unfortunately it didn't quite work out the way that I had hoped they would. Oh well…as I said to the guys…I have a million ideas.

The other interesting thing that had happened was a basketball tournament that our shift was in. We actually made it to the finals…thanks to yours truly. You remember how everyone always teased me about not being much of an athlete…well, it turns out that I'm a pretty good long range shooter. I was always the one left on the bench…I mean when only five guys play at a time, and there are six guys on a shift. During the semi-final game we were getting blown outta the water….I mean big time. Roy went down with a sprained ankle…I went in. Not sure what came over me, but suddenly I was Wilt Chamberlain..and we won the game. And just to remind you, I also excelled in pitching in a softball game. However, that too is another story.

The guys are all doing great. Captain Stanley is as paranoid as ever. It kinda cracks us up. How is it possible for such a good guy, an experienced firefighter, not to mention a captain to boot, to be so…for a lack of a better word…insecure? We have no idea either. However, I must say that his clam chowder gets better and better every time he makes it.

Mike Stoker, our man behind the wheel is doing well, too. I sometimes refer to him as our tower of power. He is tall, strong, a little on the quiet side…but he packs quite a punch. I don't mean that literally, it's just that when he has something to say…it's usually either right on the money…or it's funny. And…him at the pumps…he knows exactly how much power we need on the hoses. And driving Big Red…there's no one better. After not doing so hot on my engineer's exam, it's okay that I didn't…'cause I know I have a lot to live up to, if Mike Stoker is the standard of what an engineer should be.

Marco Lopez continues to be one of my best friends. It is quite the study in contrast. While it would appear that we don't have a whole lot in common, we usually do have a good time together…like that time we went out sailing together with a girl that Johnny was to have gone out with. Oops…another story, for another time. But like me, Marco is very family-oriented, and likes to experiment with cooking…although if I am honest with you Uncle Des…my cooking skills could use a little boost. Maybe on my next vacation I will come out east to see you and Aunt Melinda, and the two of you could give me some ideas on how to improve my cooking. But…if there is ONE dish that I make that the guys say is pretty good…it's my chilli. I make great chilli, and Marco, my Mexican-American best friend makes a great Irish stew…go figure.

If Marco and I are almost opposites, then our two paramedics, Roy and Johnny are even more so. They're good guys though. I have even gone on fishing trips with them…though we never seem to catch any fish. Roy recently went on a game show with his wife. I guess it was a game about how well you know your spouse. Apparently he and his wife Joanne didn't quite know each other as well as they had thought they did…they got the last big question wrong...it was something about vegetables. Johnny continues to be Johnny. I really can't say anything bad about the guy…as he is my number one pigeon.

Well, I guess I pretty much got you all caught up in the goings on in my life. Mom and Dad, and the rest of the family here in LA are doing great too. Like I said at the beginning of the letter…life is good. I have no complaints. I'll be in touch. Give my love to Aunt Melinda…and by the way, our station dog Henry says hello. He's gotta be the laziest dog that I've ever seen. As much as I try to train him…it's no use. Oh well.

Your favorite nephew, Chet


End file.
